Continuously fired oil-burning system



June 5, 1951 A. M. STANLEY 2,556,047

CONTINUOUSLY FIRED OIL BURNING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 5, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 es ia,

June 5, 1951 A. M. STANLEY 2,556,047

CONTINUOUSLY FIRED OIL BURNING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 5, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /f (iw Patented `une 5, 1951 UNITED SrA'reS garant oi-FICE coNTINUoUsLY FIRED OIL-BURNING SYSTEM Arthur M. Stanley, Lynn, Mass.

Application October 3, 1946, Serial No. 700,905

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates lto an oil-burning system and its principal objects are to provide a Simple, eflicient and reliable burner which is capable, not only of operating on various types of fuel oil, but also of effecting substantially complete combustion of vthe fuel oil; toprovide an apparatus which is subject either to thermostatic or to manual control so asto vary` the rate of combustion of the fuel oil in accordance with the demand, thereby providing a balanced combustion functioning in accordance with the requirements, as distinguished from the oil and on operation of conventional apparatus such as the gun-type burner; and to provide an apparatus which may be economically constructed and readily installed in conventional boilers or furnaces without necessitating an expensive modiiication or reconstruction. A

Further objects relate to various features of construction and will be apparant from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings, where:

Fig.A 1 is an elevation of an oil-burning apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the Iburner nozzle;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the combustion chamber; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section through the combustion chamber.

y The apparatus herein shown for the purpose of illustration comprises a combustion chamber I having a depending baffle 2 and a nozzle 3 hav- `ing fuel-oil and air-supply passages il and respectively. The air-Supply passage is connected with a line 8 which includes a shut-off valve 9 and a pressure gauge Ill, and the oil- `supply passage is connected with a line II which includes "a shut-off valve I2. The line II is connected with an oil tank I which is installed at alevel' below that of the nozzle 3, so that the oil cannot flow by gravity, thus eliminating a `syphonaction and the danger of `picking up Sediment. The air-supply 8 is connected with "a T IB, one branch II of which is connected to a suitable source of air supply,hereinafterrmorc fully described, and the other branch I8 being connected to the oil tank I5 so that the oil and vair supply are always under the same pressure. If desired, thetank I5 maybe connected with -Many oil reservoir and a iioatl valve or other suitable 4means (not shown) may be' provided for "maintaining a predeterminedoil level within vthey tank.

The combustion chamber I is of generally cylindrical shape designed to be installed at the grate level of a boiler or furnace and comprises fa base plate 2S on which is mounted a cylindrical metal casing 2l, the upper end of which is turned inwardly to provide a retaining ilange 22, The base plate 2D supports the bottom and side walls or liner members 24 and 25 which are of porous ceramic material, such as fire clay. The said wall 25 is provided with a circular access door (Fig. 4) which may be used for the` initial Vignition of the fuel mixture in installations which do not embody an automatic ignition system. The top wall 26 of the combustion chamber is also of porous ceramic material and is Supported. on 'the top of the liner 25, being held in place bythe flange 22. The top wall 26 is formed with a moderate conveXity and is provided with a plurality of circumferentially and radially spaced openings 28 which may be of the order of V2 inch in diameter and through which the hot combustion gases escape from the chamber.

The baille member 2 is of non-porous reresisting material, such as a 3% nickel-alloyfan'd is formed with a stem which projects through ja central opening in the top wall 2B, being heldin place by a bolt 30, as shown in Fig. 4. The lower end of the baille is formed with a downwardly facing, generally convex surface 32, as shownin Fig. 4, and is spaced above the upper end ofthe nozzle 3 a distance of the order of 1 inch, i. e., from about 5%; inch to 11A; inch, a inch `setting for the particular burner herein shown having been determined to be the optimum forthe burner herein shown. 'I'his spacing has been found to be critical in that a spacing greateror Vless than the above specific range does not pei*- mit as efficient or satisfactory combustion.

The nozzle 3 extends through an opening in the bottom wall 24 and, as shown in Fig. 2,'the nozzle comprises two coaxial tubes '35 and "36 whichdene an outer air duct 3l and an inner oil duct 3 8, respectively connected with the air and oil passages i and 5. The inner end. of the tube 36 is formed with a valve seat 4i) against which a needle valve member 4I operates -so as to control the iiow of oil. The lower end of the valve member 4I extends through a packing gland 42 and is connected with an` operating handle 43 by means of which a ne adjustment of the valve member may be made. The inner ends of the tubes 35 and 36 are of frustoconical shape so as to provide discharge openingscapable of creating relatively high velocity jets which aredire'cted againstthe surface 320i-the baffle.

estati? 3 Du'e to the convexity of the surface 32, the oil jet is deiiected outwardly so that the heavier hydrocarbon constituents of the fuel oil strike Aand are absorbed by the porous walls of the combustion chamber vand are thus broken up into fine particles, which are forced back into the 4chamber by expansion in which condition they readily undergo complete combustion. The lighter hydrocarbon constituents of the fuel oil are vaporized either before striking the baffle or after they are deflected therefrom and hence undergo complete combustion, itrbeing understood that the flow of air through line 8 is so adjusted as to be capable of insuring an air supply sufficient thermostat 52 is installed at a vsuitable locationV remote from the control valve 50, as indicated in Fig. l, and a hand-operated valve 5@ is also connected in the line I'I between the pressure control valve 50 and the T It so that both the air and oil-supply system may be cut off when desired.

The line I'l is connected to one port of a manually operated pressure reducing valve 55 and the other port is connected with the pressure tank 58 capable of holding an air supply under a pressure of 60 to 75 pounds gauge. The tank 58 is connected with a compressor unit comprising Van air compressor 6I) driven by a motor 6I, the operation of which is controlled by a pressure actuated switch mechanism t2 associated with a line 64 connecting the corn- `pressor and tank. A pressure gauge 65 and hand-operated valve 66 are also connected in Ithe system, as shown, and all parts may be of standard equipment.

Under normal operating conditions the pressure-actuated switch 62 is operative to maintain an air pressure of from 30 to 6I) pounds gauge within the tank 58 and the pressure reducing valve 55 isset to step down the pressure to about 8 to l0 pounds gauge. The thermostatically operated pressure reducing valveY 55) is eifective to vary the pressure in the line I'I from a mini- Ymum of about one half pound gauge to a maximum of about 8 pounds gauge, and thus notV only controls the pressure exerted on the oil in the tank I5 which, in turn, controls Ythe amount ofroilfed to the burner, but also controls the amount of air supplied to the burner. Hence, by properly setting the needle valve :il and adjusting the valve 9 in air line 8, for any pressure inthe line I7 the correct proportion of air and oil discharged through the nozzle 3 may be obtained. 4

Assuming that the burner is installed in a boiler of a heating system, when there is little or no demandon the heating system the thermostat 52 acts on valve 5) so as to effect a reduction in air pressure in the line Il to the lowest point necessary to maintain the burner in operation; when the demand on the heating system is greatest, the thermostat operates to raise pressure in line I'I so as to effect maximum delivery of oil andair to the burner; and demands l system on the heating intermediate these extremes are similarly satisfied. Thus, the burner gives a balanced fire, constantly functioning according to the demands or requirements of the system, rather than the off and on operation of the conventional gun-type burners. In shutting ofi the burner, the valve I2 is rst closed and the valve 9 is permitted to remain open for a minute or two so as to insure complete combustion of the heavier hydrocarbons absorbed by thechamber walls, after which valve 9 may be closed.

A further feature Vof the invention involves safety of operationand it will be noted that with the design herein shown no oil can flow without Vpressure, and, as the only oil under pressure is contained within the tank I5 and as the pressure of the oil in the tank I5 is the same as that in the air-supply line, there can be no flow of oil into the burner without the corresponding .amount of air to support complete combustion.

Moreover, since the oil forced from the tank I5- is delivered to the burner, together with the proper amount of air, when once ignited the combustion chamber is always hot enough to insure ignition of the oil. In case of a failure of the electric current, there is sufficient storage capacity of both air and oil to keep the burner in operation for several hours, thus preventing a complete shut-down during the period in which repairs are being made. y

While I have shown and described one desirable embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the pury pose of illustration and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A continuously fired oil-burning system comprising a combustion chamber having interior walls of porous ceramic material,v at least one of the walls being formed with a plurality of perforations through which combustion gases pass, a generally convex baffle member of relatively non-porous, heat-resisting material., an oil and air-supply nozzle projecting into said chamber, in the direction of said baflie, with its delivery end terminating a distance of the order of one inch from said barile soas to discharge a jet of mixed air and 'fuel `Ydirectly against said bailie which defiects it outwardly against the interior walls of the combustion chamber, means for supplying oil and air under pressure to said nozzle, and means for varying said pressure in accordance with the demand on the system.

2. A continuously fired oil-burning system comprising a combustion chamber having `interior side and top walls of porous ceramic material, the Vtop wall being formed with a plurality of perforations through which combustion gases pass, a downwardly facing generally con- Vex baiiie member of relatively non-porous, heatresisting material depending from the top wall of said chamber, an oil and air-supply nozzle projecting upwardlyV into said chamber with its delivery end terminating a distance ofthe order of one inch immediately beiow said baiiie so as to discharge a jet of mixed air and fuel directly against said baiileV which deflect is outwardly against the side wall of the combustion chamber, means for supplying oil and air un;-

der pressure to said nozzle, and means for var-ying said pressure in accordance with the demand on the system.

3. A continuously fired oil-burning system comprising a combustion chamber having interior walls of porous ceramic material, at least one of the walls being formed with a plurality of perforations through which combustion gases pass, a generally convex baille member of relatively non-porous, heat-resisting material, a nozzle having an oil passage and an air-supply passage, said nozzle extending intosaid chamber with its delivery end terminating a distance of the order of one inch from said baffle and arranged so as to discharge a jet of mixed air and fuel directly against said baie which deflects it outwardly against the interior walls of said combustion chamber, an oil-supply tank disposed below the level of said nozzle, a fuel line leading from said tank to said oil passage, an air-supply line having one branch connected with said tank and another branch connected with said air-supply passage, and means connected in said air-supply line for varying the pressure of air in said tank in accordance with the demand on said system.

4. A continuously fired oil-burning system comprising a combustion chamber having interior walls of porous ceramic material, at least one of the walls being formed with a plurality of perforations through which combustion gases pass, a generally convex baffle member of re1- atively non-porous, heat-resisting material, a nozzle having an oil passage and an air-supply passage, said nozzle extending into said chamber with its delivery end terminating a distance of the order of one inch from said bafe and arranged so as to discharge a jet of mixed air and fuel directly against said bafle which delects it outwardly against the interior walls of said combustion chamber, an oil-supply tank disposed below the level of said nozzle, a fuel line leading from said tank to said oil passage, an air-supply line having one branch connected with said tank and another branch connected with said air-supply passage, valve means in said nozzle for controlling th-e delivery of fuel therethrough, and valve means in said air-supply line for varying the pressure of air in said tank in accordance with the demand on said system.

5. A continuously red oil-burning system comprising a combustion chamber having interior walls of porous ceramic material, `at least one of the Walls being formed with a plurality of perforations through which combustion gases pass,

a generally convex baffle member of relatively non-porous heat-resisting material, a nozzle having an oil passage and an `air-supply passage, said nozzle extending into said chamber with its delivery end terminating a distance of the order of one inch from said bale and arranged so as to 6 discharge a jet of mixed air and fuel directly against said baille which deects it outwardly against the interior Walls of said combustion chamber, an oil-supply tank disposed below the level of said nozzle, a fuel line leading from said tank to said oil passage, an air-supply line having one branch connected with said tank and another branch connected with said air-supply passage, .and thermostatically operated valve means for governing the air pressure in said airsupply line.

6. A continuously red oil-burning system comprising a combustion chamber having interior walls of porous ceramic material, .at least one of the walls being formed with a plurality of perforations through which combustion gases pass, a generally convex baiile member of relatively non-porous, heat-resisting material, a nozzle having an oil passage and an .air-supply passage, said nozzle extending into said chamber with its delivery end terminating a distance of the order of one inch from said baille and arranged so as to discharge a jet of mixed air and fuel directly against said balle which delects it outwardly against the interior walls of said combustion chamber, an oil-supply tank disposed below the level of said nozzle, a fuel line leading from said tank to said oil passage, an air-supply line having one branch connected with said tank and another branch connected with said air-supply passage, valve means in said nozzle for controlling the delivery of fuel therethrough, valve means in said airsupply line for governing the discharge of air through said air-supply passage, and thermostatically operated means for governing the air pressure in Said air-supply line and tank.

ARTHUR M. STANLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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